Sunday, January 26, 2014

Amish.
A monk.
A rabbi.
A leprechaun.
A lumberjack.
A Greek Orthodox priest.
Jase from Duck Dynasty.
Jesus.
Santa Claus.*
(*Except, of course, that the beard is red
and the robe is white, instead of vice versa).

These are all things I've been told I look like with this year's (admittedly, much larger than in previous winters) edition of "the beard."

A parishioner handed me the following humorous newspaper clipping before Mass this morning from Britain's, The Tablet:

Bare-faced cheek

NOT SINCE the eleventh century, when the length of a man's beard was said to equate to the number of his sins, have the hirsute had cause to believe that the Church discriminated against them. But the Bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan, reignited the conflict last week when he suggested in a letter to the Equality and Human Rights Commission that its recent report on belief was offensive because it equated lifestyle choices like having a beard with the great religions.

"If anyone is being offensive here, it is the bishop," the Beard Liberation Front organiser Keith Flat shot back in a press release. "Of course, wearing a beard is not a religion but it can be a way of life and the bishop should respect that." The group added that all great religions have had bearded members, but observed that there had not been a bearded pope since 1700. In the eleventh century, canon law threatened with excommunication priests who wore a beard; Pope Alexander III ordained that clerics who grew a beard were to be shaved by their archdeacon by force, if necessary.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

I wrote the following letter on Thursday and sent it in to The Malone Telegram...but it hasn't yet been published there, so I'm now posting it here...

UPDATE (1/30/14): The Telegram printed my letter today.

To the editor:

It seems that two extreme cold fronts have settled on New
York State: one blast from the arctic, and the other from Albany.

It was a phone call on Tuesday from a friend in Georgia
which alerted me to some extraordinarily troubling comments made by Governor
Andrew Cuomo last Friday.It seems
that the press in the Peach Sate recognized their import long before it did
here in the Empire State…and when I finally saw something about it in this
newspaper on Thursday—almost a week later, the very same day the venerable New York Times also first found them
worthy of note—the Governor’s words were summarized and thereby softened.

What exactly did our Governor say?“Are they these extreme conservatives who are
right-to-life, pro-assault weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if
that's who they are, and if they are the extreme conservatives, they have
no place in the state of New York, because that's not who New Yorkers are” (in a public radio interview, January 17, 2014).

I am aware that Governor Cuomo was speaking about his
potential GOP rivals in the next gubernatorial election, but he was painting
with a very broad brush.

I do not own a gun, and I wouldn’t say I am “pro-assault
weapon” by any means, but I do support the rights guaranteed by the Second
Amendment.I am not at all
“anti-gay,” and will not condone bigotry against any group whatsoever, although
I cannot support the legalization of same-sex marriage.I am, however, thoroughly
“right-to-life,” believing in the sacred dignity of the human person from the
first moment of conception until a natural death.If that makes me “extreme,” so be it; I have been called by
worse names.But I am also a New
Yorker, through and through, and am profoundly disturbed to hear that there is
“no place” in the state that I have always called my home for me or others like
me who deeply cherish human life at its most vulnerable.

I appreciate the increased attention—mostly in financial
form—that our Governor has been giving to the North Country.But I cannot support his claim made in
Tuesday’s State of the State speech that there’s a “different feeling” now in
the region.No amount of money can
buy my feelings.If we once felt
“abandoned and isolated, [like we] weren’t even a part of New York, [like we]
couldn’t even relate to Albany,” then how are comments such as those made last
Friday supposed to make us feel any differently?Baby, it’s cold outside…and it’s getting colder!

I am a New Yorker who wants to believe in New York.I would hope that New York can also
respect what I believe.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Just so you know...I wasn't away for a second weekend in a row, but preached this past Sunday without a text or notes, so I had nothing to post here. Sorry! (I'm also battling a mighty head cold...so it's left me less-than-motivated to sit down and post this message.) Hope you all had a great weekend and a smooth transition into Ordinary Time.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

They weren't quite magi, and they came from the South rather than the East, but this weekend brought a visit from three priests from Philadelphia--seminary classmates of Fr. Tom--who graciously agreed to assist with Masses, providing me with the rare treat (maybe even more rare than gold, frankincense, and myrrh) of a weekend off. I spent some time in my former parish of Old Forge (where many didn't recognize the strange priest with a beard!), enjoying good company and a beautiful snowmobile ride...but, alas, I didn't preach, so I have no homily to pass along today.A blessed "little Christmas" to you all!

"Today,
the Magi find in the manger the one they have followed as he shone in the
sky.Today, the Magi see clearly
the one they have long awaited as he lay hidden among the stars.Today, the Magi gaze in deep wonder at
what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one
whom the universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body.As they look, they believe and do not
question, as their symbolic gift bear witness: incense for God, gold for a
king, myrrh for one who is to die."

Mary, Virgin and Mother

We fly to your patronage,O holy Mother of God;despise not our petitions

in our necessities,but deliver us from all evil,O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Saint Joseph

Pray for us!

"St. Joseph was

an ordinary sort of man

on whom God relied

to do great things."

--St. Josemaria Escriva

Saint Barnabas

Pray for us!

"...Joseph,

also named by the apostles Barnabas

(which is translated

son of encouragement)..."

--Acts 4:36

Saint Bruno

Pray for us!

"Only those who have experienced

the solitude and silence

of the wilderness

can know the benefit and divine joy

they bring to those who love them."

--St. Bruno

(1030-1101)

Saint Francis of Assisi

Pray for us!

"You should never let anyone

leave your presence in sadness."

--St. Francis of Assisi

(1181-1226)

Saint Philip Neri

Pray for us!

"A servant of God

ought always to be happy."

--St. Philip Neri

(1515-1595)

Saint John Francis Regis

Pray for us!

"No violence of cold, no snows...,

no mountains, or torrents...,

could be an obstacle to his zeal."

--comment of a contemporary

of St. John Francis Regis

(1597-1640)

Saint John Mary Vianney

Pray for us!

"Our faults

are like grains of sand

next to the great mountain

of the mercies of God."

--St. John Vianney

(1786-1859)

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Pray for us!

"The value of life does not depend

upon the place we occupy;

it depends upon the way

we occupy that place."

--St. Thérèse of Lisieux

(1873-1897)

Saint André Bessette

Pray for us!

"It is with the smallest brushes

that the Artist paints

the most exquisitely

beautiful pictures."

--St. André Bessette

(1845-1937)

Blessed Charles de Foucauld

Pray for us!

"The absence of risk

is a sure sign

of mediocrity."

--Blessed Charles de Foucauld

(1858-1916)

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Pray for us!

"The higher we go,

the better we shall hear

the voice of Christ."

--Blessed Pier Girogio Frassati

(1901-1925)

Saint John Paul II

Pray for us!

"Up to the evening of your life

remain in wonder and gratitude

for that mysterious call

which one day echoed

in the depths of your spirit:

Follow me!”

--Blessed John Paul II

(1920-2005)

Keep smiling!

“I’m not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it’s very important to be able to see the funny side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take everything too tragically. I’d also say it’s necessary for my ministry. A writer once said that angels can fly because they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe we could also fly a bit if we didn’t think we were so important.”